Characterization, Mechanical Properties and Probabilistic Failure Analysis of Reinforcement Bars Produced from Scraps in Southern and Northern Region of Nigeria

Due to rampant building collapse in Nigeria, several works have been conducted on rebars in Nigeria without recourse to statistical analysis of the tensile and characterization. In this paper, an experimental investigation was performed to understand the mechanical properties and characteristics of reinforcement bars (rebars) produced from scraps in Nigeria. The tensile strength of twenty-two samples for each type of manufactured rebar was subjected to probability analysis using a two-parameter Weibull probability distribution model. The characterization of the rebars was performed using optical emission spectroscopy (OES), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Hardness and impact strength of the rebars were determined using Brinell hardness test and Charpy test, respectively. The result revealed that the carbon content of all the rebars was more than the required amount specified by international standards for a classical rebar material. The presence of flaws in the rebars has significant influence on the mechanical properties of the rebars. The two-parameter Weibull probability distribution shows that the Weibull parameters such as the Weibull modulus and the scale parameter values were very low compared to the literature.